Made for Mission

Every Christian is called to be a missionary, not just those who cross oceans. Acts 13 shows us the first organized mission trip, featuring a remarkably diverse group of believers who were called by the Holy Spirit during worship and fasting. Paul and Barnabas were sent with the church's blessing and support, demonstrating that mission work is a team effort. On their journey, they faced opposition but overcame it through the power of the Holy Spirit. This story reminds us that mission isn't about geography but about having a willing heart and using the tools God has already given us.

Transcript

All right. So, church, I have a beautiful card that we received today. I'm gonna read you just the COVID It says, thank you so much for making my world a little more beautiful with your kindness. It really meant a lot. So this is a card from Mama Ruth to us as a church.

Listen, we loved celebrating you last week. So for those of you who weren't here, we had an incredible barbecue meal. We had cake, we sang. Mama Ruth had a tiara and a Miss Universe sash on across her chest. It was very, very sweet.

So I will hang this up on the whiteboard at the end of worship today and so you guys can read it. There's a sweet little note in here, so I want you guys to be able to see that as well. All right, friends, this morning, if you have your Bibles, I'm going to invite you to open up to the Book of Acts, chapter 13, verses 1 through 12. It's in the New Testament. It is right after the Gospels.

So Acts, chapter 13, verse 1 through 12. If you don't have your Bibles with you this morning, you can follow along on the screen. Hear now the word of the Lord for us today.

Now, in the church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers. Barnabas, Simeon, called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius. Paulus the proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer, for that is what his name means, opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from faith.

Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, you are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right. You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord. Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You were going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

Friends, one of the most important things about the Christian faith is something that many people miss. But I think that as our small church, we do a really good job of talking about it. Almost every single week we find a way to talk about what it looks like for us to live our faith out loud for the world to see. Jesus tells his followers on more than one occasion that our faith has to be lived out. Christ goes on to show that when we live out our faith to the fullest, we are actually participating in the work of God that God is doing right around us to change the world here and now.

When people live like Jesus and love like Jesus, we are actively building God's kingdom here on earth. In the Book of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31 through 46, it says this. When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne, all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me.

I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick and imprisoned and to go visit you? The king will reply, truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Then he will say to those on the left, depart from me, you who are cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in. I needed clothes and you did not clothe me.

I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. They will also answer, lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you? He will reply, truly, I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. I think that we all understand that part of our faith is acting when we see the needs of those who go unmet.

And today we have an opportunity as a church to celebrate the fact that our students are taking time out of their summer break, sleeping in late, eating junk food and playing video games to go and become missionaries right here in Tulsa, their own hometown. They're answering God's call to meet the needs of our own neighbors right here in our own neighborhood. The church that they're going to be spending the next week at is literally two miles away from us on 36th and Harvard. But today I'm going to tell you a secret. Are you ready?

Oh, it's a good one. Here it is.

Every Christian is a missionary.

That wasn't really a secret, right? It's not just our students who are going to camp. It's not just the adults that are going along with them to spend a week rehabbing houses that are missionaries. It's not just those who cross an ocean. It's not just those who wear clerical collars or those who livelihoods are provided for by missional dollars.

It's not just those who preach. Friends, if you have been a baptized Christian, hopefully you've already begun to answer your call into God's mission. And as a reminder, you don't have to cross an ocean to live out God's mission. Sometimes all you have to do is cross the street. Today, as we prepare to send our students out to do hands on mission work just two miles away, they're going to be repairing homes and rebuilding hope.

We also gather to remember that the mission doesn't stop with our youth when we send them out. It begins with all of us. So as a way to celebrate the commitment our young people have and those who will accompany them, I'd like to dig deep into this first story of what the first mission trip looked like that we read from Acts chapter 13. We're going to see how the early church in Antioch shows us what a missional lifestyle really looks like. So let's start from the beginning, in Acts 13:1, it says this.

Now, the church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers, right? Barnabas, Simeon, called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. Some of these names sound familiar, right? And some of them you have probably never ever heard, some of them are a little harder to pronounce. Of course, you guys have heard of Paul and Barnabas.

These names are synonymous with spreading the gospel, right? These were the two men who are probably most responsible for starting what we call the Christian movement out of Judea and into the rest of the world. These two men were responsible for bringing to the Gentiles the message of Jesus to talk about how the Gospel of Jesus makes a difference in people's lives. But the other names are a little less familiar. But what is clear, Scripture says that these are men of Christ and they were serious about their faith.

Scripture actually calls them prophets and teachers of the faith. One of them was even a childhood friend of King Herod Antipas, who was the reigning ruler during the life of Jesus. Like the more adult life that we recognize, what scripture is trying to do here for us is paint a picture that in the early church it was really diverse. The understanding is that Simeon is a black man based on the Latin word Niger. At least one of them is a Roman citizen.

At least one is implied to have some sort of political sway because he's the friend of the ruler. One is from Libya, another from an island country off the Mediterranean Sea called Cyprus. This group of men sitting in one room is way more diverse than the people sitting in here now.

And these men are gathered together with one purpose. Scripture goes on in verse two to say that while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart from me, Barnabas and Saul for the work, which I have called them.

It was clear that worship for them wasn't a warm up to the work that lay ahead. Worship was a launch pad in Antioch. People of all backgrounds, black, white, Jewish, Gentile, rich, poor, brown, were gathered together, fasting and worshiping. And there in that place, the Holy Spirit spoke. It wasn't during a committee meeting, which I don't know that the Spirit can speak in committee meetings.

I'm kidding. That's not my future. DS Is sitting in this room right now. I was making a joke. It wasn't during a committee meeting, not a vision casting retreat, but in worship and in fasting in the presence of God.

Friends, I believe that the Holy Spirit can break out if we are in tune with what God wants to do, if we come into this place and our hearts are elsewhere, we are not leaving any room for the Spirit to work. Friends, when we come in here, let's lay everything that we have at the cross of Jesus and let's focus on our worship. Because it is in these moments that the Spirit calls us to do some pretty radical things. As a matter of fact, we as United Methodists also recognize that God works when we are finally receptive to God speaking, right? It was in the year 1738 that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, his heart was strangely warm.

And it wasn't in, you know, modern praise and worship. It wasn't at a choir singing. He was in a Bible study. And somebody began to read Martin Luther's preface to the Book of Romans. It wasn't reading Romans.

It was Martin Luther's opinion. It was introduction to what the Book of Romans contained. And in that moment, John Wesley's heart was strangely warm. And from that moment on, he launched a global spiritual renewal that impacts and affects us even in this room. More than 200 years later.

Is that math right? Significantly more than 200 years later.

Moments of worship and Bible study have always been the fuel for our United Methodist mission. And just like John Wesley, Paul and Barnabas were sent by God. But they weren't the exception. They were the example.

The Great Commission found in Matthew 28 wasn't given to the elite as a reminder. It was given to the ordinary. Jesus spoke to all of his followers.

All of those who followed Jesus were left with the same charge. Go and make disciples of every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He didn't say, hey, if you're comfortable in your job, if you've got the right number of dollars in your bank account, if you feel good at speaking in front of crowds, go and do this. He said, y' all go in. The story of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13 is the record of the very first time that the Great Commission was taken seriously.

Acts 13:3 says, Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So all the men in the room gathered around Paul and Barnabas, and they laid their hands on them and they sent them off. The church didn't just pray over them from a distance, they laid hands on them. They touched them. That was a physical sign of solidarity.

It was a physical sign of blessing, a physical sign of that shared calling we all have as members of Christ Church. It's a recognition that mission work that we do, it's not a solo thing.

It's a team effort. The church sends the church supports and the church participates in mission through those who go.

We talked last week about the work of Christians being like a relay race. The baton has to be passed. One runner doesn't run the whole race in a relay. They don't do it on their own. They don't do it alone.

That's why the laying on of hands, kind of a baton pass. It's the church saying, go in the name of Jesus and make a difference on our behalf.

But the baton begins motion at our baptism as United Methodists, our baptismal covenant says that we accept the freedom and power that God gives us to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves and friends. All of that is mission language. That's language that requires us to receive the baton from those who have fought the good fight before us and then to pass the baton on to us, and then we get a chance to pass the baton off later on as well. What's important for us to remember is that working towards God, mission isn't about geography. It's about a posture of our hearts.

And if you're willing, there's always a mission to find right around you.

The truth that we find in Scripture is that if we really belong to Jesus, then we've already been commissioned. So let's pick up in Acts 13 again, starting in 4, verse 8. Sorry, verse 4 through 8, it says. Then the two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia. Seleucia was a port city of Antioch, about 6, 16 miles away from Antioch.

And by the way, Antioch became an incredible outpost for the early mission church. And they sailed from that port city to Cyprus, which is a Greek island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. And when they arrived at the Greek island, they went to Salamis, which is the city that Barnabas was born in. And they began to proclaim the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. And that was literally on the opposite side from Salamis. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and a false prophet named Bar Jesus. Anybody know what that means? Bar Jesus.

What does it mean? Son of Jesus, Son of Yeshua. Right. So it's not like this is the son of Jesus, our Savior. Different guy, right?

And this man, Bar Jesus was an attendant of the Proconsul Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, was an intelligent man, sent. He sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. So we recognize in this moment that whatever Paul and Barnabas are preaching becomes really important. Word is getting out. So much so that the proconsul, the guy who is in charge of this island, says, hey, bring them to me, because I have to hear the word of the Lord too.

And then during that first mission when Paul and Barnabas reached the city, there they encountered opposition. That's Elymas. There's a little bit of unclarity here because it pronounces this guy's name as Bar Jesus, but later on he's called Elymas. And if you're not reading it that way, you might think it's two different people. But the way it's written indicates that we're talking about the same guy.

Okay, Bar Jesus is kind of the Hebrew name, and Elymas would be the more Latin translation of a Greek name. And his name means what?

Sorcerer? And it says that he tried to block their witness. So he's speaking into it. Kind of reminds me of that scene in one of the Lord of the Rings movies, right? Where the.

You got this guy who's serving the king and he's speaks into the king's ear, and you can see the king's eyes are glazed over because he no longer trusts anybody else but this trusted advisor. It kind of reminds me of this scene. You have this guy trying to convince the proconsul that he doesn't need to hear the word of the Lord. Don't worry about it. They're liars.

He tried to convince Sergius Paulus that Paul and Barnabas were deceitful in their words.

You got to wonder, why in the world would he even get in the middle of that, right? What is there for him to gain if he convinces the proconsul or proconsul that he doesn't need to hear the word of the Lord?

Scripture goes on 9 through 12. It says, then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, you are a child of the devil. Oh, man, I would have liked to have seen that. Like to just be there watching. Ooh, snap.

That is a huge accusation. You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right. You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the ways of the Lord? That, friends, is a condemnation that I know some people in my life probably should listen to right now.

The hand of the Lord will be against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not able to see the light of the sun. Immediately mist and darkness came over him and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. So Paul in this moment was filled with the Holy Spirit.

He rebuked Elymas and struck him blind. And because of the witness that Paul had already been preaching and because of this incredible moment of miracle, Sergius Paulus believed in the Gospel of Jesus because he saw the, the power and the Word coming together and fall friends. This right here, what we just witnessed, that's Paul's first miracle. Okay?

It's not a healing.

Paul performs his first miracle as a confrontation. Spirit empowered mission doesn't shy away from darkness. It exposes it and overcomes it. And as a side note, from this moment on, Paul is never referred to again as Saul.

Now we know that Saul is the Hebrew version of the same name, Paul, but he's no longer identified in this way. It wasn't just a name change for Paul. It was a shift in Paul's whole identity. He took on his Roman name so that he could reach the Roman world.

Friends, this week a lot of our youth packed tool bags and toolboxes to go with them on their trip because they're going to be, some of them potentially re roofing one house. And we have six other houses, or sorry, five other houses where we will be doing brand new siding all the way around, hanging insulation, putting on all the trim strips and making these houses more energy efficient and beautiful for their homeowners.

You may think that mission means packing a tool bag to go and do hard work like this, but sometimes it just means opening a tool bag that we already carry. Your skills, your name, your story, it's already part of God's plan for you.

And in order to do God's work, we're called to adapt. When John Wesley began to preach to the poor and those who needed hope, he said, I look on all the world as my parish.

And that wasn't him being arrogant. That wasn't him saying, I'm going to be the pastor of the world. No, that was him saying that anywhere I find people, I want to show them the love of Jesus. That was his adaptability. He moved the message outside of the walls of the church and into places like streets and graveyards.

He became famous for preaching in fields and coal mines because his spirit called him to go where the people needed to hear Christ the most. And unsurprisingly, most of those people aren't already in the church building, Right? So Church this story of the first missionary movement of Paul and Barnabas should serve as a reminder that you don't need a plane ticket to be a missionary. You don't need a title. You just need a willing heart, a worship filled life, and a spirit that says, here I am, Lord, send me.

So as we leave this building today, as we send our youth to go live out a week of mission work in the name of Jesus and the name of community, Brookside, I want all of us in this place to recommit ourselves to the mission of Jesus wherever we are. Not just as spectators, but as co workers in the Gospel church. Let's pray.